This is the time of year that you make a lot of lists and check them twice...or so it goes. You're planning parties, sending someecards, and buying gifts.

That's why it's really important to remember one key thing: Relationships are everything.

Is there a friend you've been cancelling on lately? Someone you had a fight with or just a little Twitter spat? Did someone blog something that didn't quite sit right with you and so you've been avoiding them? Awkward breakup anyone? Even worse... the awkward "not sure what it was that we were doing, but now we don't even have that so now what are we?"

This is the time of the year to fix all that--not to end the year on a bad note with the people you really want in your life that you didn't quite build the kind of relationship you wanted in 2010. In the world of entrepreneurship and innovation, we're all grossly underqualified for what we're trying to do, so we need the help of others. Without the support of strong people around us or the inspiration of thoughtful contemporaries, life is pretty hard.

Between now and the end of the year, pick out 5 people that you're going to build better relationships with, and write down exactly how you're going to do that. Weekly breakfast at Coffee Shop? A thoughtful comment every time they post a new blog? Some Tumblr reblog love?

Do more for others in 2011, and I guarantee it will come back to you in spades.